Four of the first five services for people with learning disabilities that were subject to snap inspections in the wake of the Winterbourne View scandal have failed to meet essential standards of care and safety.

Inspectors believe that the findings, together with early results of more than 60 other spot-checks, show that hospitals and care homes for learning disabled people need stronger leadership and better staff training to ensure that care is appropriate and abuse is not widespread.

Winterbourne View, a hospital facility near Bristol run by private company Castlebeck, was closed after a BBC Panorama programme alleged there was a regime of systematic ill-treatment of people with "challenging" behaviour who were sent there for assessment and therapy.

Although inspectors did not discover abuse of the kind alleged at Winterbourne View, in connection with which 10 people face criminal charges, it was found that complaints of ill-treatment were sometimes not followed up; that physical restraint techniques were in some cases used too much; that people being treated on a voluntary basis were frequently locked in; and that opportunities for activities were often limited.

Dame Jo Williams, the CQC chair, said: "These inspections are the first of many, but already we can see the effects of a lack of strong leadership and governance. Where we have found problems, they can often be traced back to poor procedures or poor understanding of procedures."

The findings from the five reports had "resonance" with what was emerging from the next 60 being prepared for publication, Williams said. Care was too often not tailored to the needs of the individual.

Of the first five services inspected, most concern was expressed about Townend Court, an NHS facility in Hull run by the Humber Foundation Trust. Another NHS unit, Kent House in Oxton on the Wirral, run by the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership foundation trust, also prompted "major" concern.

One person being treated at Kent House told inspectors: "It's not fair [that] when I hit someone the police are called; if someone hits me nothing happens."

Minor concerns were expressed about two private units in Devon: Westbrook Grange in Barton, near Torquay, run by Modus Care, and James House in Chudleigh, run by the Four Seasons group. The only unit to meet all essential standards was a third NHS facility, Rose Lodge in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, run by the Northumberland Tyne and Wear foundation trust.

Although the units are intended for short- or medium-term assessment and treatment, it was found that some people had been kept in them as long as 12 years.

Williams said there was a severe shortage of suitable accommodation and support in the community for learning disabled people with sometimes challenging behaviour. "There's no doubt that the particular needs of these people are quite often difficult to meet, but we are not seeing the range of facilities we would hope for."

Terry Bryan, a nurse who worked at Winterbourne View and went to Panorama after failing to get the CQC to act on his concerns about the regime there, is taking part in the inspection programme at Williams's request.

"If these places do need to exist, they need to be smaller," Bryan said. "And when people go in, they need to know on day one how to get out. It should be a short, crisis intervention."

In a joint statement, learning disability charities Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation said the reports' findings echoed their concerns. "It is unacceptable, though unfortunately not unexpected, that four of the five services are not fully compliant with essential quality and safety standards."

The charities said they expected the inspection programme as a whole to "provide a strong justification for moving away from institutional care to local services for local people".